Painkiller: Hell Wars review

For what it's worth, the boss battles tend to be memorable, featuring demons many stories tall. It's the only time Painkiller ever instills any sense of wonder, which is pretty weak considering you're striking deep into hell's own heart. You could blame it on the wafer-thin story, the laughably poor cinematics or the bizarre and inconsistent level assortment, but nothing ever really seems to matter, let alone gel.

Captain Trigger Finger can gather cards for his Tarot deck by completing each level's arbitrary goal, and this helps lend a weak strategic element, especially if you're playing at the harder difficulty settings. On the other hand, by the time you've got enough of them to be useful you're practically finished, and there's precious little reason to play through again.